Bad dancing and a "real" dancer's image

[pygmalion]

I've been watching TV this afternoon, while doing my weekly cleanup, and I noticed something. There are images of dancing everywhere -- in movies (Thank God It's Friday was on today. 8,) in TV commercials, even print ads and TV dramas. The only problem is that it's almost always bad dancing -- you know, the grope and sway type, or the "bopping around the livingroom while playing air guitar," type.

Question. First. Have you noticed the same thing. and second, are all these dance-filled media imaages good for "real," serious dancers, or bad? Does having all these pictures of dancers in the cultural consciousness make for more dancers (that's good.) Or does it make people (wrongly) think,"dancing is so simple. Anyone can do it. So why are you dance enthusiasts spending so much time and other resources on it?"

Just wondering. What do you think?

[Laura]

I think the average non-dancer doesn't think that hard about it. :-)

[Chris Stratton]

I think it keeps dancing in the public eye, which is good.

I don't see it oversimplifying the pereception of dancing - if anything, the reverse since anything shown that is more than 'slow dancing' or casual club dancing is often a highly choreographed flash & trash performance that looks intimidatingly complicated - far more inaccessable on TV than it is in real life.

But I do think it means people walk in the door to their first classes with a number of flawed technical assumptions that have to be overcome. Things like extending the arms to point in the direction of travel in promenade, for example. Fortunately, walking in the door is by far the most difficult step of fixing these things.

[Sagitta]

Does having all these pictures of dancers in the cultural consciousness make for more dancers (that's good.) Or does it make people (wrongly) think,"dancing is so simple. Anyone can do it. So why are you dance enthusiasts spending so much time and other resources on it?"

Just wondering. What do you think?

Actually, I think that dancing, social dancing, is simple. Anyone can do it? If not why can't they?

The more I let myself go and follow the music the easier I find it to move to the music, even with a partner. I may not be able to execute the steps and moves of the particular dance, but I can move to the music. Anything that encourages people to come out dancing, or learn dancing, is good. That is the first step. Baby steps, baby steps...I've got people up and moving to the music at the social dances in my area. Then they have started learning partner dancing. :D

[chachagirlie]

pygmalion wrote:
Question. First. Have you noticed the same thing. and second, are all these dance-filled media imaages good for "real," serious dancers, or bad? Does having all these pictures of dancers in the cultural consciousness make for more dancers (that's good.) Or does it make people (wrongly) think,"dancing is so simple. Anyone can do it. So why are you dance enthusiasts spending so much time and other resources on it?"

I, too, have noticed it Pygmalion! I think it stems from Madison Avenue wanting to appeal to the majority...and frankly, the majority can't dance. You know what I mean...if you go to a local spot where there is public dancing, how many people there really can move?

However, there have been commericals that have really good dancing in them. One was the Coldwell-Banker tango and the other I can't quite remember clearly...but the couple danced standard (with a lift) and the product was flooring or carpeting or maybe windows...yes... I think it was Anderson Windows? Maybe someone else remembers this better...

[DancePoet]

Laura: You just totally cracked me up!

[DWise1]

I have also felt that feeling of "Why can't those idiots get that simple thing right" when seeing things I know something about (computers, foreign languages, military) handled so wrong in movies and TV (I was actually slightly impressed with "The Recruit" when the flashes of code they showed for the top secret network program actually contained C code that a network program would use). And as I learn more about dancing, I'm sure I'll be seeing the same thing being done to dancing as you have.

But at the same time, I immediately flashed on a scene in Richard Dreyfuss' 1996 movie, "Mr. Holland's Opus", where he was starting to teach music appreciation. He played "Louie, Louie" and started criticizing its many flaws, both as music and in terms of the performance. Then he said that he liked it nonetheless, because you can tell that the performers are having so much fun singing it.

So, yes, the quality of the dancing being depicted may be very lacking in quality, but is that what they're trying to show? Or are they trying to show the character having so much fun doing that bad dancing? Would the non-dancers in the audience be more likely to want to start to learn to dance if the dancers are so good as to make the dance even more out-of-reach, or if they get the message that it's going to be fun?


But I still can't forgive Hollywood for their screwing up with computer use all these years (classic goof: "Office Space" the protagonist is trying to shut down his computer at quiting time. The screen is obviously a Mac, yet the shutdown takes him to an MS-DOS screen before he can turn his computer off. Hellooo?)

[squirrel]

Well... in my country they use dancing a lot in commercials... they even used Salsa!
I think it's a good thing... gets the average Joe to pay attention to what dancing is (at least what it seems to be...)

[cocodrilo]

No. Not much dancing in Japan. It is not a cultural thing for Asians to shake butt. Lots of skinny Japanese cutesy manga-types and a fair quantity of unappealing foreign women(they make them up Japanese style and UGH!)...There are some CMs using samba and even "Volare" by the Gypsy Kings is being used to tout Asahi beer!!! :shock:

[Vin]

I see it too. In fact if you watch any carnival cruise line commercial they always have about 2 seconds of a salsa.

What do I think of it. Actually I like it, when the dancing you see is classy. Have any of you seen the new R. Kelly video Happy people. Not being an R. Kelly fan I must say I do like the classy way in which dancing in general is depicted in this videos. Too bad his reputation is shot.

I think that after people get over the "wanting to be on mtv" phase of there lives they want a classy alternative to the normal club scene.
This is the image I hope that is portrayed in the media about dancing.

[pygmalion]

I'm not sure if the image is classy or not. Maybe it depends. But the dancing I've seen does look approachable, which I guess is a good thing ...